The Minimally Informed Manâ€™s Guide to the MLB Playoffs

October is here, and that means it’s time for the 2018 MLB Playoffs. After a slog through 162 games—or 163 games for four teams—the long road trips, extra innings games, tough losses, and exciting wins, it all comes down to this.

Ten teams are into the MLB playoffs, and all ten have the same goal in mind: Winning the World Series.

Major League Baseball is kicking off the playoffs with a message to their players to have some fun and express their passion for the game, with some help from Hall of Fame outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. Check out the MLB spot for the playoffs:

The Basics

The MLB Postseason starts on Tuesday, October 2 with the National League Wild Card Game, followed by the American League Wild Card Game on Wednesday, October 3. The NL game will be on ESPN for TV coverage, while TBS will have the AL game.

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The winners of the Wild Card games will advance into the Division Series, with the National League series starting on Thursday, and American League Division Series starting on Friday. The winners of those series will advance into the League Championship Series, starting up on Friday, October 12. The World Series will start on Tuesday, October 23 and TV coverage will be on FOX.

The Favorites

The Houston Astros come into the playoffs after winning the World Series last year, and they followed that up with another very successful regular season. The team won 103 games and finished six games ahead of the Oakland Athletics while posting an MLB-best plus-263 run differential. The Astros also were the best road team in baseball, going 57-24 during the season.

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The Boston Red Sox are also one of the major favorites heading into the playoffs after winning 108 games this season, the best in all of baseball. The Yankees finished with the third-best record in baseball, but since they’re in the same division as the Red Sox, they ended up as the first American League wild card team. The Yankees set a record for home runs hit by a team during the regular season, and that power makes them a dangerous team in the playoffs.

The Upstarts

The Oakland Athletics come into the playoffs with the lowest payroll of any team in the MLB. They became the first team since 1988 to make the postseason with the lowest payroll (according to Pro Baseball Talk) and they also bring in one of the best offenses in the league.

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The Athletics started the season slow, and at one point they were 11 games back of the Seattle Mariners in the standings in July for a playoff spot, but a ridiculous surge over the second half of the season has the team in the playoffs. The team has the chance to give the Yankees a fight, as they come in with the best record in one-run games of the playoffs teams, as well as the best road scoring, according to ESPN.

The Atlanta Braves weren’t expected to be in the playoffs—at least not for another year or two. The team has been rebuilding their roster up over the last few years after tearing things down and slashing payroll, but the fantastic play from young players like Ozzie Albies and Ronald Acuna Jr., along with the strong veteran leadership from Freddie Freeman has the Braves back in the postseason.

The All-Stars and MVP Candidates

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The playoffs are filled with a number of All-Star players and players that will be battling for the MVP in both the American League and National League. Here’s a quick rundown of the players you should keep an eye on: